No arrocho, Saunders pulou, tirou o quadril, sacudiu e conseguiu liberar o braço da defesa. Depois foi só apertar e esperar os três tapinhas de Chris no tatame. Foi a primeira vez que o golpe foi aplicado dentro das oito linhas do Ultimate. Reveja!

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney (Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)

Bellator Fighting Championships will make their 2013 debut on Spike TV on Thursday, Jan. 17, and the broadcast will feature two title fights, the company announced on Tuesday.

Lightweight champion Mike Chandler will defend his title against Season 6 tournament winner Rick Hawn, and Pat Curran will defend his featherweight belt against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire on the Spike TV debut. The event will take place at The University of California, Irvine’s Bren Center in Irvine, Calif.

The company also announced that their second broadcast will be Jan. 24, which will feature welterweight champion Ben Askren defending his title against Karl Amoussou. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal will also be on the second event, but an opponent is yet to be determined. Lawal will have specials dedicated to him airing between the first and second Bellator broadcasts on the network.

Bellator will air events every Thursday for 12 straight weeks, officials said, and broadcasts will start at 10 p.m. ET. Viewers on the West Coast with a dish can watch the fights live at 7 p.m. PT, but cable subscribers will have to wait for a tape delay at 10 p.m. PT.

Five tournaments will take place during the upcoming season, including those in the 145-, 155-, 170-, 185- and 205-pound weight classes. Fighters such as Lawal, UFC veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli will be in the 205-pound tournament, while Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima will be in the 170-pound bracket. Others will be added in the near future.

Bellator’s biggest competitor, the UFC, has long presented itself as a Pay-Per-View company. Bellator, however, has made their reputation through cable networks, most recently with MTV2 and next year with Spike — a network that used to host UFC Fight Night cards. When asked, company CEO Bjorn Rebney said there are no immediate plans for a Bellator Pay-Per-View.

Officials said the company is currently casting for its first fight-based reality show, but plans for its debut are still being worked out.

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Veteran Givanildo in publicity photo

Givanildo Santana lived up to his moniker “The Arm Collector”, at Bellator this Saturday, coming up with an armbar win over Darryle Cob just two minutes into their fight. This brings Giva’s tally to 13 armbars of the 15 submission wins in his 17-win career.

In the middleweight GP, Ben Saunders put on a Jiu-Jitsu clinic, landing triangles and omoplatas against the game Luis Sapo, finally getting the submission with an americana lock in the third round.

At the other end of the bracket, Douglas Lima showed his boxing is up to spped, knocking out Chris Lozano in the second round.

Now Marcio Cromado student Luis “Betão” recovered from his loss on his promotional debut, taking just 51 seconds to finish Zak Laird with a guillotine.

(Collaborator Junior Samurai)

Check out the results

Bellator 53
Miami, Oklahoma, USA
October 8, 2011

Light heavyweight GP semifinal
Ben Saunders submitted Luis Sapo with an americana in R3
Douglas Lima knocked out Chris Lozano in R2

Superfights
Ronnie Man submitted Kenny Forster via triangle in R1
Thiago Monstro submitted Josh Burns in R1
Givanildo Santana submitted Darryl Cobb gia armbar in R1
A.J. Matthews defeated Rudy Bears via unanimous decision
Raphael Davis knocked out Myron Dennis in R2
David Rickels submitted Levi Avera via triangle in R2
Luiz Betão submitted Zak Laird via guillotine in R1
Emanuel Brooks defeated Greg Scott via TKO in R2

O experiente Givanildo, em foto de divulgação.

Se o UFC 136 chamava a atenção em Houston, em Oklahoma acontecia, neste sábado, a edição 53 do Bellator.

Nas lutas casadas, o faixa-preta Givanildo Santana fez jus ao apelido “Colecionador de Braços” e esticou mais um com seu golpe preferido: o armlock. Contra Darryl Cob, Giva só precisou de dois minutos para botar pressão, envolver a chave e finalizar. É a 13ª vez que Giva define desta maneira, com 15 finalizações em 17 triunfos no MMA (uma derrota).

Pela semifinal do GP dos médios, Ben Saunders deu uma aula de Jiu-Jitsu nas duas primeiras parciais tendo encaixado triângulos e omoplatas no duro Luis Sapo, que resistiu na raça. Mas como o velho ditado diz “água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura”, Saunders insistiu na arte suave e definiu o duelo com uma encaixadíssima chave americana, no terceiro round.

Na outra chave Douglas Lima mostrou que esta com o boxe afiado e nocauteou Chris Lozano no segundo giro.

Já Luis Betão se recuperou do último revés de forma rápida. O pupilo de Marcio Cromado só precisou de 51 segundos para dar o bote no pescoço de Zak Laird e arrochar a guilhotina.

No encontro dos brutamontes, o brasileiro Thiago Monstro derrubou, pegou as costas e finalizou Josh Burns com um mata-leão, tudo isso no primeiro round.

(Colaborou Junior Samurai)

Confira todos os resultados:

Bellator 53
Miami, Oklahoma, Estados Unidos
8 de outubro de 2011

Semifinal do GP meio-médio
Ben Saunders finalizou Luis Sapo com uma americana no 3R
Douglas Lima nocauteou Chris Lozano no 2R

Lutas casadas
Ronnie Man finalizou Kenny Forster com um triângulo no 1R
Thiago Monstro finalizou Josh Burns no 1R
Givanildo Santana finalizou Darryl Cobb com um armlock no 1R
A.J. Matthews venceu Rudy Bears por decisão unânime
Raphael Davis nocauteou Myron Dennis no 2R
David Rickels finalizou Levi Avera com um triângulo no 2R
Luiz Betão finalizou Zak Laird com uma guilhotina no 1R
Emanuel Brooks venceu Greg Scott por nocaute técnico no 2R

Sapo nos tempos de WEC. Foto: Divulgação.

O Caesars Hotel e Casino, em Atlantic City, Nova Jersey, recebeu o Bellator 49, e não faltou emoção nas quatro disputas pelas quartas-de-final do GP dos meio-médios, e nas cinco lutas casadas.

The Caesars Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was the setting for Bellator 49, where there was excitement to spare in the five superfights and four light heavyweight GP quarterfinal fights featured on the evening.

In the Las Vegas of the east, Luis Sapo and Douglas Lima broke the bank and got their tickets to the light heavyweight GP semifinals. Sapo, a native of the Brazilian state of Paraná, outdid Dan Hornbuckle throughout their three-round encounter, taking the unanimous decision and bringing his career win record to 50, according to our collaborator Junior Samurai.

Now Douglas Lima went through to the next stage with a unanimous decision of his own, against Steve Carl. The two Brazilians join former UFC fighter Ben Saunders, who dispatched Chris Cisneros with potent knees, and Chris Lozano, who overcame Brent Weedman by unanimous decision.

Nicknamed after Brazilian star pugilist Acelino “Popó” Freitas, Alexandre “Popó” Bezerra had only ever won by submission in the cage, but this time he lived up to his moniker and used his fists to pummel Scott Heckman into a technical knockout 1:38 minutes into the second round.

Bellator 49
Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
September 10, 2011

Light heavyweight GP

Douglas Lima defeated Steve Carl via unanimous decision;
Luis “Sapo” Santos defeated Dan Hornbuckle via unanimous decision;
Ben Saunders defeated Chris Cisneros via technical knockout in R3;
Chris Lozano defeated Brent Weedman via unanimous decision.

Undercard

Alexandre “Popó” Bezerra defeated Scott Heckman via technical knockout in R2;
Giedrius Karavackas defeated LeVon Maynard via technical knockout in R3;
Joel Roberts submitted Brylan Van Artsdalen via triangle in R2;
Lester Caslow defeated James Jones via technical knockout in R2;
Azunna Anyanwu defeated J.A. Dudley in R2.

Sapo nos tempos de WEC. Foto: Divulgação.

O Caesars Hotel e Casino, em Atlantic City, Nova Jersey, recebeu o Bellator 49, e não faltou emoção nas quatro disputas pelas quartas-de-final do GP dos meio-médios, e nas cinco lutas casadas.

Na Las Vegas do leste, Luis Sapo e Douglas Lima quebraram a banca e carimbaram o passaporte para a semifinal do GP dos meio-médios. O paraense Sapo foi mais eficiente que Dan Hornbuckle nas três parciais e levou por decisão unânime, alcançando segundo suas contas 50ª vitória na carreira, informa Junior Samurai.

Já Douglas Lima avançou para a próxima fase batendo Steve Carl, também por decisão unânime. Se juntam aos brasileiros, o ex-UFC Ben Saunders, que despachou Chris Cisneros com joelhadas potentes, e Chris Lozano, que venceu Brent Weedman por unanimidade.

Com apelido de um astro do boxe brasileiro, Alexandre Popó Bezerra só tinha finalizado na grade cinza, mas nesta etapa fez jus ao codinome e usou seus punhos para domar Scott Heckman e aplicar um nocaute técnico a 1min38s do segundo assalto.

Bellator 49
Atlantic City, Nova Jersey, EUA
10 de setembro de 2011

GP meio-médios
Douglas Lima venceu Steve Carl por decisão unânime
Luis ”Sapo” Santos venceu Dan Hornbuckle por decisão unânime
Ben Saunders venceu Chris Cisneros por nocaute técnico no 3R
Chris Lozano venceu Brent Weedman por decisão unânime

Card preliminar
Alexandre Popó Bezerra venceu Scott Heckman por nocaute técnico no 2R
Giedrius Karavackas venceu LeVon Maynard por nocaute
técnico no 3R
Joel Roberts finalizou Brylan Van Artsdalen com um triângulo no 2R
Lester Caslow venceu James Jones por nocaute técnico no 2R
Azunna Anyanwu nocauteou J.A. Dudley no 2R